In a cramped building on the outskirts of Bangalore, 140 Indian engineers are hunched over computer screens on behalf of Rolls-Royce, the UK company that is one of the world's top three makers of jet engines.

The engineers are assisted by three UK technology experts - known as the "greybeards" - who are employed by Rolls-Royce and who sit in the same Bangalore building to act as the interface with the company's UK operations, mainly in Derby.